In a substantial number of surgical procedures, it is necessary to drill through bone. By way of example, in order that a ligament may be secured in an appropriate location, the securing suture is passed by a needle through a straight bore in the bone and then held by an anchoring button for the necessary interval before the suture and button are removed.
Such a bore may be formed by using a straight drill but it is often desirable that the ends of the needle and suture passageway be non-aligned thus to enable them to be located relatively close one to the other. When this situation is encountered, two intersecting bores are made with a straight drill with the two bores defining an angle of less than 180.degree. . The difficulty is that the more acute the angle defined by the intersecting bores, the more difficult it is to force the suture-carrying needle through the passageway, particularly if the diameter of the bores is held to a minimum and if the bone is relatively brittle.
A few examples of operations where the provision of a curved bore is advantageous are:
______________________________________ REGION OPERATIONS ______________________________________ A. Hand 1. Collateral ligament repairs 2. Mallet finger deformity 3. Volar plate reconstruction injuries 4. Tenodesis in flexor profundus B. Wrist 1. Radio-ulna dislocations C. Elbow 1. Recurrent dislocations of the elbow (biceps transplant) 2. Avulsed biceps tendon D. Shoulder 1. Bankhardt repair of chronic dislocations of the shoulder 2. Acromioclavicular separations 3. Comminuted fractures of the humeral head E. Spine 1. Posterior cervical fusions F. Hip 1. Greater trochanteric reattachment G. Knee 1. Cruciate reconstructions 2. Quadriceps repair 3. Patella fractures 4. Popliteus tendon transfers 5. Ligamentous reconstruction at the bone interface H. Ankle 1. Ligamentous reconstruction proced- ures I. Foot 1. Tenodesis and ligamentous reconstruction procedures ______________________________________